Western A boys and girls basketball divisional underway in Butte

Play is underway at the Butte Civic Center in the 2024. Western A Divisional Boys and Girls Basketball Tournament.  Here's a look at the early games from the first day of play.

BOYS - COLUMBIA FALLS 51, DILLON 49

6'4 senior forward Cody Schweikert led all scorers with 16 and senior guard Jace Hill added 11 as the Columbia Falls Wildcats defeated the Dillon Beavers 51-49 in the first round of the Western A Divisionals.  6'5 junior forward Kyler Engelland led the Beavers with 15 while senior Carter Curnow had 13.

BOYS - HAMILTON 59, RONAN 49

Sophomore guard Canaan Magness was a perfect 5-for-5 from beyond the arc and led all Hamilton scorers with 18 while senior forward Jackson Jessop had 15 as the  Broncs beat the Ronan Chiefs 59-49 in the Western A's first-round.  Sophomore guard Kolby Finley led all scorers with 19 points for Ronan while senior post Tristan Koerner pulled down 14 rebounds for Hamilton.

Columbia Falls will meet Hamilton in the semifinals at 3:30pm on Friday while Dillon and Ronan meet in a loser-out contest Friday at 9am.

GIRLS - BROWNING 68, HAMILTON 37

Hamilton sophomore Ashlyn McKern would lead all scorers with 18 points but it wouldn't be enough as Browning breezed to a 68-37 win over the Hamilton Broncs in the Western A girls first-round.  Browning would get 11 from senior Natalee St. Goddard and 10 from junior Shaylee Heavy Runner.

GIRLS - FRENCHTOWN 66, RONAN 40

Senior guard Madi Kaufman had 21 points while sophomore post Mason Quinn had 20 points and 8 rebounds to lead Frenchtown to a 66-40 rout of the Ronan Maidens in the first round of the girls Western A Divisional.  Freshman Kaylin Morengo and sophomore Maddy Illig each had 9 for Ronan.

Frenchtown will meet Browning in the semifinals tomorrow at 6:30pm while Ronan falls into the loser-out bracket and will meet Hamilton at noon tomorrow.